International Copyright Act of 1891

International Copyright Act of 1891
Other short titles	Chace Act
Long title	An act to amend Title LX, Chapter 3, of the Revised Statutes of the United States, relating to copyrights
Enacted by	the 51st United States Congress
Effective	July 1, 1891
Legislative history
	Signed into law by President Benjamin Harrison on March 3, 1891;

The International Copyright Act of 1891 (26 Stat. 1106, March 3, 1891) is the first U.S. congressional act that extended limited protection to foreign copyright holders from select nations. Formally known as the "International Copyright Act of 1891", but more commonly referred to as the "Chace Act" after Sen. Jonathan Chace of Rhode Island.

The International Copyright Act of 1891 was created because many people shunned the idea of literary piracy. It was the first U.S. congressional act that offered copyright protection in the United States to citizens of countries other than the United States. The act extended limited protection to foreign copyright holders from select nations. It was also important for American creators since they were more likely to have international copyright protection in countries that were offered the same protection by the United States. The Act empowered the President to extend copyright to works of foreign nationals.

The act was passed on March 3, 1891, by the 51st Congress. The Act went into effect on July 1, 1891. On July 3, 1891, the first foreign work, a play called Saints and Sinners by British author Henry Arthur Jones, was registered under the act.